The Genius Of I.M.Pei!

Designing a modern structure that celebrates traditional local architecture without compromising form and functionality, is not an easy task. When I.M.Pei was approached by the mayor of Suzhou to design a museum in 2001, his brief was just that. The fact that the earmarked site was in the heritage area of Suzhou and backed against “The Humble Administrators Garden” was an additional handicap. From the look of the remarkable building in front of us, Pei managed to pull off the feat to near perfection!

Front View and Circular doorway – Suzhou Museum

For Pei was no stranger to Suzhou! This was the city of his ancestors and although he was not born here, he spent many holidays in his ancestral home in “The Lion Grove Garden”, another World Heritage Site.

The Museum that opened in 2006 was his interpretation of the distinctive elements of the traditional Suzhou landscape.

Wood & glass ceiling in the passage – Suzhou, China

The circular doorway, the grey color palette, the walled garden, the water bodies, the viewing pavilions, the zigzag bridge, the beautiful framed vistas from every angle – all pay homage to the city and the gardens that he played in as a child.

Zigzag bridge – Suzhou Museum

Pei hoped this would be “…..a case study for contemporary design in historic environs for the new generation of Chinese planners, government officials, and designers”

Reading Room – Suzhou Museum

Pool & fountain under the stairs – Suzhou Museum

This was the primary reason why we chose to visit Suzhou! (Much like we dashed across to Bilbao on a day-trip from Barcelona, just to see the Guggenheim Museum!!)

Suzhou Museum – Suzhou, China

The exhibits inside are really beautiful and worth seeing, but as far as I was concerned, this exquisite little bulding was the star of the show! If you are at all interested in architecture do include the Suzhou Museum in your Shanghai itinerary.

I. M. Pei is hands down my favourite architect – I just love the way he designs with such elegant simplicity; I used to live just up the road from his Bank of China Tower (in Hong Kong) and every day I’d sit and gaze at it from my bedroom window. It single-handedly redefined the skyline and to this day it’s the most unique skyscraper we have. His buildings really do have a sense of timelessness.

I can’t imagine how personal the Suzhou Museum was for Pei; for any architect this would certainly be a labour of love – the mayor certainly made the right choice! Thank you for sharing Madhu, I really enjoyed this entry!

I love the zigzag bridge and the reading room! I had the opportunity to visit the last structure (I think!) he designed: the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar. It is also surrounded by water and is really beaitiful.

That tree in front of the entrance would be preventing good luck from entering the building if I have the system correctly in mind. I remember having a visitor to our home in Sydney Australia from Singapore. She was agitated at a tree directly in front of an entrance door and solved the problem by cutting it down. :)

thanks for this post about the Suzhou Museum. I love the museum and go their often. I agree, IM Pei is an amazing architect. what i love so much about Suzhou is the commitment from the city government to keep new buildings in the old town in keeping with the old style architecture. wish the rest of china was like tha! the new railway station is also an example of old architectural styles brought into modern building design.
thank you! I live in Suzhou so I am delighted to see this post.
Debbie